Decontamination, Surveillance and Ready Made Martial Law in the
Anthrax Age

ABSTRACT

We propose a panel discussion on surveillance versus sousveillance and
critiques of both of these opposing viewpoints by artists, scientists,
theoreticians and inventors in the wake of global terrorism, media
frenzy and government witch-hunting. We propose elucidating both the
reality of terror as well as the fabrication of its reality and all
technologies that assist these processes. We will present strategies
and preliminary responses to current surveillance issues and proposals,
especially as they relate to surveillance in the Anthrax Age (mass
decontamination, large-scale information collection, population
control, quarantine, triage biometrics and mandatory medicinal control).
The following submission reflects three reactions to this situation.

The threat of terrorism has made Martial Law seem acceptable to many.
Thus in the event of a suspected release of a nuclear, chemical, or
biological agent,
the area, city, state, or the like, of the release, may be cordoned off
to prevent victims, patients, suspects, or others who may be
potentially contaminated from leaving the scene of the release
without first undergoing decontamination.

Additionally, new kinds of decon facilities are being researched,
and invented, as described in Canadian Patent 2303611
(anthrax-ready mailroom exhibit at Gallery TPW,
July 2001,
http://wearcam.org/bradecon.htm).
Methods of statewide emergency evacuation by the armed forces are
also well known in the prior art.
For example, the Model Emergency Health Powers Act allows for entire
cities to be cordoned off, in the event of a suspected possibility of a
smallpox outbreak, or the like.

From fire extinguishers to riot extinguishers (big cans of pepper spray),
the need for crowd control has been marketed as a new social order.
And with fire hoses for crowd control the
need for the fireman has changed from controlling fire to controlling people.
Is he the firefighter cum people fighter?
Or has his desire to control fire merely evolved into a desire to
control people?
[S. Freud, The acquisition of power over fire.,
Int. J. Psychoanal., 13: 405-410.]

hose people down both to decontaminate them and to discourage them
from leaving the area. ... victims would be given Tyvek suits, spare
clothing, or even garbage bags to wear... dozens of people could be
herded through decontamination lines
simultaneously.
footnote See summary of government and industry documents on decon:
http://wearcam.org/decon_summary.htm

And with that desire for dominance over people, comes the need for
surveillance, to document the stripping and scrubbing of his subjects:

The identification of contaminated victims and their personal
effects... Victims are also videotaped as they proceed through the
decontamination line.
footnote See summary of government and industry documents on decon:
http://wearcam.org/decon_summary.htm

This being done in a mechanized and very efficient way:

The disinfection/decontamination process is akin to ``putting humans
through a car wash" after first destroying their garments. Los Angeles
World Airports have put in place a contingency plan to disinfect up to
10,000 persons who might have been exposed to biological or chemical
substances.
footnote See summary of government and industry documents on decon:
http://wearcam.org/decon_summary.htm

Decontamination centers at secret locations, with the ability to
run people through a central intake facility, are also known in the art:

The city has taken steps to establish decontamination centers at
various undisclosed locations, he said. ``The equipment is in place.
... ``We have to be able to shut down the hospital, filter people
through a central intake where we can shower and wash them down,
footnote See summary of government and industry documents on decon:
http://wearcam.org/decon_summary.htm

Intelligence-gathering systems, means of controlling large numbers of
people, etc., can also be applied to the management of a large-scale
involuntary labour force. Means and apparatus for
compelling civilians to perform mandatory
work is well known in the art:

Other outstanding legal questions concern the ability to isolate,
quarantine, or detain groups or individuals; the ability to
mandate treatment or mandate work; restrictions on travel and
trade; the authority to seize community or private property such
as hospitals, utilities, medicines, or vehicles; or the ability to
compel production of certain
goods
footnote Testimony of Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. Subcommittee
on National Security, Veterans Affairs And
International Relations Committee on Government
Reform July 23, 2001

We now live in an era in which one spilled salt shaker can bring about
Martial Law and strip hundreds of citizens of their civil rights,
leaving us stripped naked, bleached, and bagged. The
disinfection/decontamination process is akin to "putting humans through
a car wash" after first destroying their garments. Los Angeles World
Airports have put in place a contingency plan to disinfect up to 10,000
persons who might have been exposed to biological or chemical
substances. Since a suspected terrorist incident constitutes a crime
scene, all clothing removed from victims will be evidence. This means
the clothing needs to be bagged, tagged for later victim identification
(like triage tags) and set aside in a secure location until the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) determines its disposition.

Here are some detailed examples of strategies each of the panelists
will use in addressing the Anthrax Age theme:

The above is only the introduction (approximately the first quarter of the
paper).
You can download the entire article (paper number 1716) in various file formats: